Junkyard sports are “real” sports and games played with the “wrong” equipment. Because the sports are made up by the people who are playing them, they offer a welcome alternative to the traditional sport programs. Junkyard sports stress personal

One of the most radical of the implications of junkyard sports is the notion that regardless of what gets invented or played or who wins, the only thing that really counts is how much fun it is for everyone. As a criterion for success, especially for

One of the key inspirations for the development of a junkyard sport is playing in the “wrong” environment with the “wrong” equipment. Stickball, for example, was invented so that kids could play baseball on the street. They didn’t have bats, so they made

As the concept of junkyard sports takes hold, a community of junkyard sports players will form around it. Because junkyard sports invite participation across ages and across abilities, this community can grow very large very

Endless variations of six major team sports can be played by almost anyone, anywhere, with just about anything.

Games are easy to implement and use low-cost or no-cost “found” materials for equipment.

Games build physical, social, and mental skills, including endurance, teamwork, and sensitivity to others.

Junkyard Sports in physical terms looks like any other paperback book. But in reality it is a high-octane starter kit, fueling physical activity, creativity, and fun in ways that sports have never been played before.

Teachers and recreation leaders who are looking to get away from the “same-old same-old” in their approach to games and sport will find Junkyard Sports a valuable tool. Part of that value comes from the more than 75 sport-specific demonstration games that Junkyard Sports provides. A demonstration game is a starting point for teachers and students—it provides not only a complete game description but also ideas for spawning new games from the original. These demonstration games pave the way for an exciting, nontraditional approach to a sport, and they also engender creativity, ingenuity, community, leadership skills, and other social skills as teachers and students consider further innovations to the sports.

The beauty of junkyard sports is that they work in any environment, with any group. They are fresh because they are ever-changing as their rules, equipment, and environments are adapted. They are also budget-friendly because they call for found or nontraditional equipment—brooms, rolled-up socks, beach balls, whatever is around and not nailed down. They are also easy to implement—a brand new activity can be under way in five minutes or less.

Part I introduces junkyard sports, defining the concept and exploring some of the purposes and potential benefits that led to its development. It includes sections on playing with groups of various ages and abilities, adapting sports to almost any environment, developing a junk (equipment) collection, and making flexible rules. It also explores how to coach a junkyard sport, including the invention and testing of the game, the sharing of equipment, the judging and revising of rules. Finally, it describes how to involve the entire community, giving you a strategy for implementing leadership and for sharing the fun with your peers and students.

Part II is the “Junkmasters’ Guide”—more than 75 demonstration games for six team sports: soccer, football, basketball, baseball, hockey, and volleyball. Use them as starting points on a journey toward creating something that’s never been played before!

Junkyard Sports is a unique tool for recreation leaders and teachers to use in developing physical, mental, social, and leadership skills with groups of almost any age or ability. At the same time it helps teachers create an environment in which students are engaged, challenged, and enjoying themselves and each other. Winning isn’t the point. Playing together is. And playing sports has never been more fun.

Bernie DeKoven is serious about having fun and about helping others have fun, too. He has been reinventing sports for more than 30 years, has designed curriculums with more than 1,000 children's games, and has developed the training program for the New Games Foundation. The concept of New Games has had a worldwide effect on physical education and recreation. Along the way he designed and led an event for 250,000 people for the Philadelphia Bicentennial celebration, where he introduced Really Big Pick-Up Sticks (16 feet long) and Big, Big Box Blocks.

DeKoven, who has an MA in theater from Villanova University, has invented almost every kind of game—educational, entertainment, digital, physical, social, mental—for companies such as Mattel Toys and the Children's Television Workshop. He is a lifetime member of the Association for the Study of Play. To contact DeKoven about workshops (which are guaranteed to be instructive, creative, and above all, fun), e-mail DeKoven at Bernie@Dekoven.com.

Bob Gregson is an artist who combines art and play. For over 30 years, Gregson has organized innovative events that encourage collective creativity for people of all ages. His large-scale public celebrations bring diverse communities together with such events as the Special Olympics World Games, First Night, and OpSail. Gregson received his master of fine arts degree from the Art Institute of Chicago and has worked for museums and nonprofit art organizations. He is currently the creative director for the State of Connecticut Tourism Division. As an artist he uses architectural elements, photography, and community planning to design projects that invite an interactive dialogue. His first meeting with Bernie DeKoven in the 1970s opened new creative vistas resulting in a citywide “Play Day” attracting 10,000 playful participants in Hartford, Connecticut. He is the author and illustrator of several popular games books for teachers—linking arts, games, and education in unique relationships.

The joy of learning has been driven underground and with it much of the pleasure of teaching...Junkyard Sports brings them to the surface again."

-Herb KohlAuthor of 36 Children

"Bernie DeKoven continues to provide mankind with ideas to have fun. He is a master at stimulating the creativity and imagination in all of us. This inventive, clever, and brilliant contribution is his latest to making our lives more fun. It's a must read for every recreation leader and parent!"

-Jonathan KorfhageSuperintendent of Parks & Recreation in Foster City, California and a past president of the National Park & Recreation Association

"I think DeKoven is a modern day alchemist. In this book, he magically shows readers how to turn a junkyard into gold mine. What a joyful world this would be if we all read this book and followed his advice."

-Dr. Allen KleinAuthor of The Healing Power of Humor and The Courage to Laugh